Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market. Miran told Bloomberg Television's Surveillance program that Fed officials had room to further reduce rates given his view that underlying inflation was likely running at 2.3%. "I'm looking for about a point and a half of cuts. A lot of that is driven by my view of inflation," Miran said. "Underlying inflation is running within noise of our target, and that's a good indication of where overall...
Oil slipped in quiet end-of-year trading, as the market focused on the outlook for 2025 while monitoring Middle East developments. West Texas Intermediate traded near $70 a barrel after rising 1.6% last week, and Brent was below $74. There are widespread expectations that the market will be oversupplied next year, which is likely to make it harder for OPEC and its allies to revive idled production. Oil is heading for a modest loss this year, with trading confined to a narrow range since mid-October. The market has been buffeted by bearish and bullish signals,...
Oil prices settled more than 1% higher on Friday and recorded a weekly gain in low trading volume ahead of year-end, buoyed by a larger-than-expected drawdown from U.S. crude inventories last week. Brent crude futures rose 91 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $74.17 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 98 cents, or 1.4%, to $70.60 per barrel.On a weekly basis, both Brent and WTI crude gained about 1.4%.U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 20 as refiners ramped up activity and the holiday season boosted fuel demand, data from the...
Silver price (XAG/USD) falls to near $29.60 in a thin trading volume session following holidays on Christmas and Boxing Day on Friday. The white metal is under pressure even though tensions in the Middle East region between Israel and Iran have escalated. On Thursday, Israel launched missiles at the Iran-backed Houthis military and bombed Yemini airport. After the air assault, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with an Israeli TV station of the Houthis, "We are just getting started with them". Israel retaliated to last week's air assault by Iran. Historically,...
Gold prices slipped on Friday as elevated U.S. Treasury yields dimmed non-yielding bullion's allure in a holiday-thinned week, with markets focused on President-elect Donald Trump's return to office and the potential impact of his inflationary policies on the Fed's 2025 outlook. Spot gold fell 0.7% to $2,615.99 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were down 0.8% to $2,633.5. Treasury yields are a little bit higher here, and gold will remain under pressure through the end of today ... we are here in a thin holiday market," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures. The dollar...
Gold prices eased on Friday but were set for a weekly gain as investors gravitated towards safe-haven assets amid political uncertainty in the Middle East, overshadowing pressure from a firmer dollar. Spot gold fell 0.8% to $2,614.39 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were down 0.9% to $2,629.7. "There remain geopolitical hotspots around the globe, which is keeping gold in play from a safe haven perspective," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. "Between Russia-Ukraine and events in Gaza, investors remain keen on gold in case either situation flares up further." In the Middle...
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that achieving 2% inflation is getting closer, although real inflation remains low. Ueda emphasized that the BOJ will continue to raise interest rates...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...